Apple today made several announcements which will impact the iPod family. Effective immediately the new basic iPod line, which combines the best of the iPod and the image friendly iPod photo, will feature two white models, each with color LCDs. Also on Apple’s radar are shuffle price drops, new iTunes software and greater support of podcasts.
New iPods
The new 20GB ($299) and 60GB ($399) models, which look like the iPod photo, replace all existing iPod and iPod photo units. The former will hold approximately 5,000 songs and the latter 15,000. As for photos, the 20GB can support 20,000, with the 60GB up around 25,000. Like the iPod photo, the simplified line supports the ability to directly import photos from a digital camera with the optional iPod Camera Connector. Users, as before, will be able to combine music and photos into multimedia slideshows which can be viewed on the iPod or displayed on a larger screen through a connector cable.
All other features of the new iPod, such as the click wheel and playlists support, remain the same as the previous models.
Podcasting
The software used to support the iPod also got a facelift.
iTunes, now at version 4.9, exposes podcasting to more of the mainstream iPod audience. Podcasting, for those who don’t know, is a form of Internet radio in which listeners can subscribe and automatically download special audio files (usually free) from a single source (i.e. ABC News, Adam Curry, BBC, Clear Channel, The Dawn and Drew Show, Disney, Engadget, ESPN, Newsweek and NPR member stations, just to name a few). Think of it as downloading daily segments of your favorite radio talk show. Instead of listening to them on the radio or streaming them, iTunes (and software like it) pulls the segment off of the Internet and makes it available for you to listen to on your computer or iPod. In the case of iTunes, the software features a special directory built into it which allows you to subscribe to one of 3,000 free podcasts, which are downloaded automatically and auto-synchronized with your player., just like your music.
To better manage podcasts on your iPod, Apple has also released iPod Updater 2005-06-26. This new update for the player (which is already available on the new iPods listed above – existing iPod owners (all click wheel and mini models) will need to download it here) adds a Podcast menu to the existing directory structure. From this new menu, users will be able to bookmark within a single podcast and also display color podcast work.
"Apple is taking Podcasting mainstream by building it right into iTunes," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Podcasting is the next generation of radio, and users can now subscribe to over 3,000 free Podcasts and have each new episode automatically delivered over the Internet to their computer and iPod."
Price Drops
Apple also announced they were dropping prices on other models in the iPod line up. A new version of the iPod U2 Special Edition features a color screen and is priced at $329. The 1GB shuffle meanwhile drops to $129, while the 512MB unit stays at $99. Prices on the mini remain unchanged.
http://portables.about.com/od/mp3players/a/newipod.htm
